I’m a Palm Beach trustee and my Florida trust beneficiary is driving me crazy: what can a Florida trustee do?

OK, so you are a Florida trustee and your trust beneficiaries, or maybe just one trust beneficiary is driving you nuts.  What is a Florida trustee to do?  Let’s say that your mother or father had a few bucks and lived in Boca Raton where their estate planning lawyer created a living trust, also known as a Florida revocable trust. Now, mom and dad have passed, and their last income taxes were paid and the US Estate Tax was paid and the Palm Beach probate has beenclosed…..leaving just the family trust.   They named you as successor trustee !  And now you have to deal with a sister or brother you can’t stand?  What is a Palm Beach trustee to do?

What can a Palm Beach trustee do when there is a crazy trust beneficiary?

Here are 3 things a Florida trustee can (probably) do if you are an individual serving as trustee of a Boca Raton family trust in Florida and a trust beneficiary is driving you crazy.

1. Resign as trustee.   Shocker: You don’t HAVE to serve as trustee.  I know that mom or dad appointed you as the successor trustee. But you don’t have to. So, stop moaning and complaining.  Either you want to be a trustee of this family trust  or not.  The truth is : there areprofessionals who do this work regularly each and every day: including dealing with a crazy or demanding or even not so fun trust beneficiary.  If you don’t like being trustee, or you find that it creates anxiety or stress: resign as trustee of the Florida revocable trust. Do you know the right or correct way to resign as trustee?  Ask you probate or trust litigation law firm how to do it.

2. Hire a Co Trustee.  The Florida Trust Code gives you, the trustee, a whole lot of power.  You can do a lot of things which help the trust and help the Florida trust beneficiaries.  What the Florida Trust Code also does is allow you to help yourself: kind of, sort of.  For sure, you as the West Palm Beach trustee can’t do a lot of things.  You can’t engage in acts of self dealing.  You should not be in a position of a conflict of interest…. after all, that might lead to a trustee removal lawsuit, right?…..but !……. you can do things like hire a co trustee or you can appoint a co trustee .  Your trust lawyer Palm Beach Gardens should first read the trust document and then review the Florida Trust Code.  But you can probably bring someone, like a big, safe, national trust company, or bank, on board as a co trustee to administer or run the trust with you as the other co trustee.

3. Hire Trust Professionals.  You, as the Delray Beach trustee can hire professionals and have those pro’s paid for by the trust assets.  CPA’s, book keeprs, accountants, trust lawyers Boynton Beach, money managers, “investment agents”.   Now, you have to be reasonable in who you hire and how you compensate them. You can’t hire the world and you should not hire your son, spouse, or son in law.  Don’t hire your neighbor or partner.  Hire the best and pay them reasonably.  But they can do a lot of the heavy lifting (did you know that a Florida trustee can NOT hire someone to exercise a Florida trustee’s discretion? ….. Florida trustees can NOT delegate discretion and good judgment and being prudent.)  So, think who you may want to hire to make your life as trustee easier, and how those professionals can help the trust and the trust beneficiaries. Remember: it’s the trust beneficiaries’ trust, not yours.  It’s the beneficiaries’ money, not yours.